Having competed at both state and national levels in karate and overcoming personal injury, our Chinese Medicine Practitioner Mark Vanniekerk understands how important it is to recover from an injury as soon as possible.
Whether your injury is acute or chronic, our treatment is customised to suit your particular needs and stage of recovery. Referrals are not compulsory. We welcome you whether you are self-referred or sent by your Surgeon, GP, Physiotherapist, Chiropractor, Osteopath or Podiatrist, or other health practitioner.
Acupuncture can be provided as a complimenting treatment or to supplement standard care to assist your recovery by reducing inflammation and swelling, relieving pain, and increasing blood flow to the injured region [15].
Generally, most people feel some pain relief from their first visit. This is because acupuncture assists the release of endorphins which are our body’s natural pain relievers [9].
At Your Acupuncture Clinic we work with you and your health professionals to get you back to what you love by reducing the pain, inflammation and swelling with conditions such as:
- Sciatica
- Tennis elbow
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- De Quervain's tenosynovitis
- Low back pain
- Neck pain
- Plantar fasciitis
- Knee osteoarthritis
If you would like to know how acupuncture can work for you, speak with one of our friendly staff on 0403 503 010
SCIATICA
Sciatica pain can range from a mild ache to incapacitating pain in the buttock and back of the leg. It is caused by pressure on the nerves in the lower back and is usually experienced in one leg at a time.
A review of 11 randomised control trials found that Acupuncture may be more effective than drugs (ibuprofen, meloxicam, and diclofenac) in the relief of leg pain, lumbago and sciatica and may enhance the effect of drugs when used in combination. Additionally, patients found acupuncture points to be more effective than nonacupoints [16]. These results are supported by a systematic review of 12 studies involving 1842 participants which found acupuncture was more effective than conventional Western medicine in outcomes effectiveness, pain intensity and pain threshold [10]. A comparison study of treatment strategies also found statistically significant improvements for patients with sciatic pain following acupuncture [13].
Research into this field is continuing with more rigorously designed clinical trials with larger sample sizes and timeframes required to further confirm these findings.
TENNIS ELBOW/LATERAL EPICONDYLITIS
Acupuncture maybe used for the treatment of tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) which is a repetitive strain injury where the outer part of the elbow becomes painful and tender. Results from three randomised control trials of moderate quality showed that acupuncture was more effective than sham acupuncture in the treatment of tennis elbow [5].
Further studies have shown participants who received acupuncture were likely to have improvement in elbow functional status and/or myodynmia, [18] and that acupuncture or moxibustion was superior or equal to conventional treatment, such as local anaesthetic injection, local steroid injection, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or ultrasound [5]. However, methodological limitations of these studies mean further research is warranted to confirm these results.
CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME
A systematic review of studies with a low risk of bias suggest that acupuncture is superior to oral steroids (1 RCT, n = 77) and may be superior to vitamin B1/B6 supplements (1 RCT, n = 64) for the treatment of symptoms assoiciated with carpal tunnel syndrome. Electroacupuncture was also shown to have similar effectiveness to night wrist splinting (1 RCT, n = 78) [4]. Another study of 50 patients with carpel tunnel syndrome observed statically significant improvements in pain, symptoms, and function (global BCTQ FUNCT and SYMPT, the VAS), over ibuprofen use [8].
DE QUERVAIN’S TENOSYNOVITIS
Currently corticosteroid injection is the most common treatment option for the management of De Quervain’s tenosynovitis. For some patients, treatment with steroid injections may not be an option. In a study comparing the efficacy of acupuncture with corticosteroid injection (n = 30) short term improvement of pain and function was demonstrated by both groups. While the rate of success was higher for corticosteroid injection, acupuncture still showed improvement, making it a viable alternative for those avoiding steroid use [7].
LOW BACK PAIN
Low back pain can interfere with many daily experiences often affecting your quality of life and the quality of life of those around you. For the management of chronic low back pain, acupuncture is supported by high quality evidence of good efficacy and outcomes [20] with research demonstrating its effectiveness in reducing the intensity of chronic low back pain and improving function [1].
In a systematic review of 32 randomised controlled trials acupuncture was found to be superior to sham acupuncture in reducing pain and improving function of chronic low back pain. Acupuncture was also found equal to usual care for pain and function but superior when combined with usual care to usual care alone [11]. An overview of 16 systematic reviews showed that acupuncture provides short-term improvements in pain and function for chronic lower back pain when used on its own or in conjunction to conventional therapy. A subgroup review of seven systematic reviews revealed acupuncture as more clinically effective than no treatment for pain relief and functionality and a subgroup review of 5 systematic reviews found acupuncture in addition to conventional therapy provides clinically relevant improvements in pain and functional measures [14].
In the treatment of acute back pain, a systematic review of 11 randomised controlled trials found acupuncture as superior to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) in improving symptoms and more effective than sham acupuncture for the relief of pain. Research is continuing in this field to verify these findings [12].
NECK PAIN
When it comes to the treatment of neck pain and its associated disorders, acupuncture plus medical care is a cost-effective option [19]. A review of 75 randomised control trials of people experiencing chronic neck pain or chronic lower back pain (n = 11077) found acupuncture, acupressure and cupping may be effective in treating the pain and disability associated with chronic neck pain. Moderate evidence revealed that acupuncture was more effective than sham-acupuncture in reducing chronic neck pain immediately after treatment and cupping could be more effective than waitlist. Furthermore, Gua sha, tai chi, qigong, and Chinese manipulation showed fair effects, however further research is needed into these therapies to verify the results [21].
PLANTAR FASCIITIS
Plantar heel pain is a common complaint and one of the most frequent causes of pain and musculoskeletal pathologies of the foot. A systematic review across five randomised control trials and three non-randomised control trials reported significant benefits when using acupuncture with high quality studies finding results comparable to the evidence available for conventionally used interventions, such as stretching, night splints or dexamethasone. One study identified significant improvement in pain and function when combined with standard treatment (including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) while another showed significantly improved pain and pressure pain threshold using one acupuncture point over another [2]. In a randomised control trial (n=29) of dry cupping and electrical stimulation therapy it found both therapies were successful in reducing pain and increasing function [6].
KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS
Knee osteoarthritis is a common degenerative, “wear-and-tear" type of arthritis where the knee joint gradually wears away, becoming frayed and rough and reducing the protective space between bones. This results in stiffness, pain and swelling, making it hard to do many everyday activities such as walking or climbing stairs. With no known cure, treatment currently centres on symptom management.
A meta-analysis comparing 22 physical interventions for knee osteoarthritic pain across 114 trials found acupuncture to be one of the more effective physical treatments for the short term relief of osteoarthritic knee pain, with acupuncture significantly statistically superior to both standard care and muscle-strengthening exercises [3]. In another systematic review of 31 randomised control trials (3,187) and meta-analysis of 8 studies (n=1,220 electroacupuncture showed significant improvements in pain when compared with control and sham acupuncture. In addition, electroacupuncture treatment was found to significantly improve the symptoms of knee osteoarthritis, knee joint function and quality of life when compared with control interventions [17].
To find out more on how Your Acupuncture Clinic can assist, speak with one of our team members now on 0403 503 010 .
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